1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a rehabilitation and exercise device for facilitation or limitation of saggital, frontal and transverse plane motion and biomechanical forces along the horizontal and vertical axes for the human anatomy.
2. Description of Prior Art
Rehabilitation and preventative medicine use a variety of treatment modalities to achieve optimal function for the human body. One treatment area that has received significant attention is the rehabilitation and retraining of muscular and neurological anatomy and physiology of the trunk lower extremities and upper extremities. One method of rehabilitation and retraining consists of closed-chain exercise and biomechanics where the distal appendage is fixed on a surface. This allows rehabilitation and retraining of the human anatomy to occur within a functional environment. There are three cardinal planes of motion in which functional movement occurs around a horizontal and vertical axis of motion. The saggital plane consists of anterior-posterior motion, the frontal plane consists of medial-lateral motion, and the transverse plane consists of rotational motion. Rehabilitation and exercise in these three planes of motion have been partially addressed through a variety of balance platforms, wobble and sport boards, and exercise devices.
Inventors have continued to create several types of devices to address closed chain rehabilitation and retraining of the human anatomy. U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,748 to Seel et al (1987) discloses a biomechanical and platform system developed for retraining muscular and neurological physiology of the ankle. This device is a spherical platform designed specifically for the ankle that allows for only a unilateral stance position and facilitates motion exclusively in the transverse plane. Thus, it is not able to control or facilitate motion for two extremities simultaneously and does not control or facilitate motion in the frontal or saggital plane, limiting rehabilitation and exercise applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,116 to Malaberg et al (1974) discloses a balancing device for amusement or athletic purposes comprising a circular, flat platform with a plurality of recesses of different configurations formed in its underside and distributed in a spaced relationship. Although the device and its recesses allow tiltable motion based on the position of the supportable members, the platforms circular nature and the equidistant nature of the recesses from the central penetration, limit bilateral lower extremity and upper extremity facilitation or limitation of motion and biomechanical forces. Also, the circular nature of the platform limits the base of support width for bilateral lower extremity and upper extremity applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,474 to Romero (1999) discloses a rectangular shaped platform that utilizes a semi flexible ball member allowing motion in various directions to produce muscle, tendon, and joint stretching movements. The ball-shaped rigid members are mounted adjacent to and on opposite sides of the central opening to allow for both balancing and securing the semi-flexible ball attachment in the central opening. Although the device produces movement in various planes of motion, it does not produce consistent, controlled motion due to compression of the semi-flexible ball attachment depending on the user's weight. This also produces a much steeper and uncontrolled angle of drop that is not conducive for post-acute injuries or for populations with significant neurological or musculoskeletal impairment. Additionally, the lack of attachment points for the rigid attachments and their location adjacent to the center opening, limits the directional control and options for rehabilitation and exercise programs.
Several other types of other balancing devices, exercise platforms, and sport boards have been proposed--for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,714 to Krauss (1962). This exercising device produces motion exclusive to the transverse plane due to recess placement and reliance on a base platform and ball bearing attachment. Thus, the transverse plane motion is difficult to control for the user due to a lack of peripheral recesses. U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,559 to Larsen (1964) discloses a pivoted combination game board and exercising device that produces motion exclusive to the frontal plane and lacks internal recesses on the bottom of the board to limit or facilitate motion in the frontal plane. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,164 to Teff (1997) discloses a rectangular rocker board that produces motion exclusive to the frontal plane for the foot and lower extremities. U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,703 to Stack (1998) also consists of a wobble board exclusive to the frontal plane with bolts extending from the board for attachment of hemi-spherical attachments. Also, this platform allows for only two heights of motion control in the frontal plane based on the attachment position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,371 to Armer (1980) discloses a balancing apparatus that operates by moving on a spherical fulcrum that rotates about its othogonal axes. This produces motion in a multitude of directions, specific to the transverse plane, based on placement of a stop means on the platform. This does not allow for a consistent means of controlling motion and biomechanical forces in all three planes or for unilateral and bilateral placement of the lower extremities, upper extremities, or trunk.
Other types of balancing and rehabilitation training devices and sport boards have been proposed--for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,140 to Klippel (1995) which discloses an elongated platform that receives a participant as well as moving on track rails. The bottom surface attaches to a rectangular plank providing linear motion exclusive to one plane and not allowing for reproducible, controlled motion including angle of tilt for all three planes of motion. U.S. Pat. No. to 5,613,690 to McShane (1997) discloses a balance platform with a spherically shaped concave depression that rests upon a base platform of convex support thereby producing a proprioceptive challenge in the transverse plane. Further, this device does not have recesses located between the two platforms to control all three planes of motion and biomechanical forces specific to each plane.
All balance, exercise, and rehabilitation platforms heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) Their design does not allow for the limitation or facilitation of motion and biomechanical forces around the horizontal and vertical axes producing controllable motion in the saggital, frontal and transverse planes. PA1 (b) Their design does not allow reproducible rehabilitation, balance and exercise programs for the trunk, unilateral or bilateral lower extremities, and upper extremities in the saggital, frontal and transverse planes. PA1 (c) Their design does not allow for attachments of various size and shape at predetermined points via recesses at the center and periphery of the platform that limit or facilitate motion and biomechanical forces in the saggital, frontal and transverse planes. PA1 (a) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform that facilitates or limits motion and biomechanical forces in the saggital, frontal and transverse planes for the trunk and unilateral or bilateral lower extremities, and upper extremities; PA1 (b) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform for people of all ages with orthopedic or neurological dysfunction; PA1 (c) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform to address balance, coordination and musculoskeletal disorders around the horizontal and vertical axes in the three cardinal planes of motion; PA1 (d) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which enhances functional rehabilitation and retraining of the lower extremities, upper extremities and trunk in the three cardinal planes of motion for all patient populations; PA1 (e) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows a decreased slip surface with an imprinted angular measuring grid; PA1 (f) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows reproducible patterns of movement and a multitude of closed chain rehabilitation and exercise programs; PA1 (g) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform that facilitates or limits the biomechanical forces of weight-bearing and gait, including stride length and anterior, posterior, medial, lateral and transverse weight shift; PA1 (h) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows appropriate postural control in all three cardinal planes of motion for the lower extremities, upper extremities and trunk in the upright position; PA1 (i) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows upper extremity closed-chain motion and rehabilitation exercises in the three cardinal planes of motion; PA1 (j) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows for a progression of balance and safety awareness in the three cardinal planes of motion for reducing fall risk and falls; PA1 (k) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows a multitude of foot, hand or trunk placements; PA1 (l) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which create a unique and customized training environment based on a multitude of member attachment points, shapes, and sizes; PA1 (m) to provide a rehabilitation and exercise platform which allows for photographs or video of the user in a unilateral or bilateral position of the upper and lower extremities to document progress with a high degree of inter-rater reliability in all three cardinal planes of motion;